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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter

PROMINENT Historian Pathisa Nyathi has said all the people who have been honoured through street names deserve the honour but Government must conscientise citizens on the role they played so that the process has buy in from locals. 

Cabinet on Thursday approved the renaming of street names across the country following a report presented by Vice President Kembo Mohadi as Chairperson of the Cabinet Committee on Place Names.

In Bulawayo 6th Avenue in Bulawayo has been renamed after President Mnangagwa.

4th Avenue through to 7th Street up to King George is now John Landa Nkomo Avenue, Colenbrander Avenue is now Lookout Masuku Avenue and Victoria Falls Road is Mosi-Oa-Tunya Road.

Fife Street and Queens Road have been renamed Queen Lozikeyi Street, Fort Street up to Plumtree Road changed to Benjamin Burombo Street, 1st Avenue changed to Lazarus Nkala Avenue, 3rd Avenue is now Naison Khutshwekhaya (N.K) Ndlovu Avenue, 5th Avenue changed to Maria Msika Avenue and 8th Avenue to Liberation Legacy Avenue.

Other roads that were renamed are 9th Avenue to Simon Muzenda Avenue, 10th Avenue to Nikita Mangena Avenue, 11th Avenue to Daniel Madzimbamuto Avenue, 13th Avenue including Anthony Taylor Avenue to Clement Muchachi Avenue, 14th Avenue to George Nyandoro Avenue, Connaught Avenue to Cephas Cele, Cecil Avenue up to Wellington Road to Albert Nxele Way while Doncaster Road was changed to Sikanjaya Muntanga Road and 23rd Avenue to Jairos Jiri Avenue. 

In an interview yesterday, Mr Nyathi said all those who were honoured in Bulawayo are all deserving.He said some citizens might not have knowledge on those given streets names. 

“They should have given some brief narration on the individuals’ contribution to the liberation struggle or society.  For someone like me, there is no problem I know virtually everybody who has been  honoured in Bulawayo. If you say Clemence Muchachi there are people who might not even know that he was a Bulawayo man, a Zapu man. Some will just read a Shona name that’s the danger with what they have done,” he said. 

He said Daniel Madzimbamuto was also a Zapu man and Cephas Cele was in Zipra High Command in Zambia during the liberation struggle while Benjamin Burombo was a Bulawayo man. 

“Simon Muzenda was a Bulawayo man, don’t confuse Simon Muzenda as Vice President of Zanu-PF and the country because he lived in Mzilikazi. It’s important that we give some historical background to these names. Some don’t even know Lozikeyi Dlodlo. Even now I think after the names have been given that exercise should be performed. So that these characters can be explained for the sake of people who do not know history.”

Mr Nyathi said Government should have consulted communities and adopted a bottom up approach in identifying individuals to be honoured. 

He said some Bulawayo residents have said names such as that of the late national hero Dr Dumiso Dabengwa and Thenjiwe Lesabe should have been included on the list.

 “The name that keeps popping up is that of Dabengwa. They are saying: ‘ungaphi uDumiso Dabengwa?’ Some are also saying: ‘ungaphi u Thenjiwe Lesabe,” he said. — @nqotshili